Monday, May 31, 2010

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know that one of my big 'dork out' moments surrounding Tufted Tweets came when I first saw the selvage with my name on it. It was the thing that finally made the whole collection seem really real. That selvage really set me into a fit of giggles and grins!

So I was thrilled when Cindy from Around the Block Quilting offered to make a few pincushions from Tufted Tweets selvage. How adorable are these?! And she is ever so kindly giving two away to two lucky people. Just leave a comment here on my blog for a chance to win the red and orange pincushion. And for a second chance to win (the purple and green pincushion), visit Cindy's blog and leave a comment there. We'll each draw a random winner on 6/6. Good luck!

Make sure you visit Cindy's new store too. It called Sewing on the Edge and she has some super cute goodies over there. She's making the "themed" pincushions like the ones being given away. And in the near future she'll be adding more items goodies like journal covers, cup cozies and aprons.

p.s. I hear that Tufted Tweets has started arriving in local quilt stores! Wahoo!!! It hasn't arrived here in Austin yet, but I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival too! So keep me posted and as soon as you get your hands on it and start sewing up goodies, I hope you'll post pics in my Flickr group.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

I know I'm a bit delayed in getting this posted, but I wanted to show you what Tufted Tweets looked like at it's big debut at Quilt Market in Minneapolis. Sadly, I didn't get to attend Market as it was 2 days after Surtex and I just couldn't swing the trip.

But my dear friend Margaret, was nice enough to snap some photos for me. And by the by, Margaret is opening an online fabric store, Form and Fabric, that is going to be AMAZING. Some very cool stuff she's working on indeed. Make sure you sign up to be notified when she has her grand opening. I can hardly wait for a fabric infusion for my stash!

If you remember, Ashley at Film in the Fridge designed the gorgeous Unfurnished quilt using Tufted Tweets and it looks like it was beautifully displayed in the booth. The pattern for the quilt will be available for download from Robert Kaufman in June so I'll keep you posted on when you can get it. And of course I'll keep you posted on when you can get the fabric! It's shipping in June so start checking at your local quilt store for it very soon! I'm hoping to get a list of stores that will be carrying it and when I have one I'll get it listed here somewhere.

And on a totally different note, some of you guys have eagle eyes and noticed the laminate trays in my Surtex booth with my patterns on them. I had those mocked up for the show to demonstrate what my patterns would look like on trays and dishes. So keep your fingers crossed that some fabulous company wants to get more of those made! For now there are 3 of them in the world...

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Every single day for the last 4 months leading up to Surtex, I've spent time getting ready to exhibiting in NY. Some of those days were a full day of prep and others were just a few minutes. But getting ready for Surtex has been a part of my life every day since I made the leap and signed up for the show.

So once we finished setting up on Saturday, it was a really strange feeling to know that there was nothing left to be done.

I just had to put faith in my work and pump myself up for the next morning when the show started. It was a very strange feeling but also very liberating. I had hoped to spend the afternoon knocking around the city and visiting the Museum of Art and Design (my FAVORITE museum in the city). But after lunch I was completely pooped. Not an ounce of energy left, so I took some time out alone and went back to the hotel and took a glorious and rejuvenating nap! It was fantastic and I woke up ready to conquer the world. We had a great dinner and then saw Wicked. I love big splashy, broadway musical productions and that one certainly didn't disappoint!

We woke up bright and early on Sunday and made our way over to the Javitz. Walking in that morning and seeing it all still standing was such a thrill. I'm really happy with the way my booth came together and it was such fun to get to see everything so BIG. :)

The 3 days of the show were everything I hoped for and more. I made some really wonderful contacts, met manufacturers in all kinds of categories and received such positive feedback on my work. I'm really, really excited about the possibilities for what's next and the projects I hope to get to work on.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Well I'm off in a cloud of dust! I head out Friday for NYC and Surtex. My nerves have calmed and now I'm just brimming with excitement. Thank you all for your emails and your comments with words of encouragement and positive feedback. You have each made me feel very special and I really can't express to you how much your support means to me.

I was able to squeeze in a tiny bit of sewing time in the last few days and made a super cute new top. I've been reading on some of your blogs about how wonderfully clear Sew Liberated's Schoolhouse Tunic pattern is, so I was keen to give a try. I'm not great at following directions (I tend to want to skip ahead...), so I was a bit skeptical. But I have to agree that it is a wonderful pattern and easy to follow!

It didn't take too long at all and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Of course, it would have taken less time and a whole lot less seam ripping if I had actually read the instructions in the last step more carefully. When you are rushing and sew the skirt part of the tunic on inside out, it takes more time to actually finish. :)

I unfortunately didn't get a chance to have someone snap a picture of me wearing my cute new top, so I'll make sure I get one when in NYC. I made it from Sorbet Birdie Dots from my new line for Robert Kaufman and think it turned out pretty darn cute! IOU one photo of me in my Tweets top. :)

My store will be open while I'm gone, but orders won't ship until after I return. I'll start shipping again the week of 5/24. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

How can it be that I am leaving for Surtex in just over a week?!? Holy cow. Taking a big deep breath now...

What's left to do? I'm putting the finishing touches on my portfolio and wrapping up a few final things for the press kits and then all the stuff gets shipped to NYC. It's almost all boxed and ready to go! I would love to share some of the show experience with you, so I'll make sure to take picture of the booth and I'll post a recap when I get back to Austin (or maybe from the big apple if I'm still able to spell after the long show days).

Thankfully I didn't know how much work it was going to be to get ready and how many little details there would be to take care of. Had I known, I never would have been brave enough to sign up to do it. This time, ignorance was definitely bliss. :)

Even though I'm terrified to do the show (yes I think perhaps I have moved past nervous to mildly terrified), I'm also really excited. I am really happy with all the new designs I've done for Surtex and can't wait to get the work in front of some new contacts. Such big dreams I have for these little designs! And, there's a possibility (tee hee, I'm such a tease...) that you just might be seeing a few of my new favorites make their way onto fabric and into my Etsy store by sometime next month! :)

Finally, if any of you are going to be at the show, please come and say hello! My cousin Danielle and I will be in booth 553 and we'd love to say a quick hello! I think it is super fantastic that's she's travelling all the way from Colorado to help me at the show! Thanks D! You are amazing and can't wait to see you next week. xoxo

Monday, May 3, 2010

To say that I am totally blown away by the response to this post would be the understatement of the year. WOWZEE. Thanks so much for making last week so very, very special for me. I have been so excited to be able to share the collection with you and this was such a great way to get the launch off to a really wonderful start. The stories about your favorite things, your personal stories about quilting and sewing (and chairs!) and the ideas you shared for projects really touched me. I am beyond thrilled that you guys are so excited about the fabric! Thank you!

And since everyone is anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winners, I won’t delay any longer! Congratulations to piecemealquilts and rsilandcrafts who have each won a FQ pack of Tufted Tweets! :)

piecemealquilts said:Wonderful fabric! My favorite chair is an old metal-frame recliner that belonged to my great-great grandfather. It has a little lever on the side and you have to adjust it to just the right position, then you can slide the feet up and the back... back.

Robin (rsislandcrafts) said: Congratulations! I love the purples :) My favorite chair will always be a rocker recliner that I used to sit in way back when. I haven't found one like it since though.

I hope you really love the fabric and I hope you’ll share pictures of what you make in my Flickr Group. Come show off your creations! (That goes for everyone!)

And if you didn’t win, don’t forget that Robert Kaufman is giving away a FULL yard set today too so jump over there and make sure you leave a comment before they finish their giveaway. Ashley at Film in the Fridge will also be hosting a giveaway for some FQ packs soon too!

One more fun thing I wanted to share. MONTHS ago (way before Tufted Tweets was licensed by RK) and I was still printing it myself, I was producing a yellow and grey color way. And it was used in a project by Better Homes and Gardens DIY Magazine! The article kept slipping from one issue to the next, but lookie here!

Birdies and Chairs on a chair. :)

I love the way it turned out. I think the chair is from Ikea , so perhaps this will be good inspiration for a Tufted Tweets chair for one of you?